because while some truths lend themselves to equations, others are best described in verse

illusion

November crept softly
this year, whispering
caresses with the subtle hiss
of falling leaves, the door
creaking shut behind him; a child’s
sun-filled breathless instant
just before impact
on a playground swing flown
too high. Still
winter comes, the ground
unforgiving, cold,
immutable to graveled knees;
the moment of invincibility
crashed and vulnerable, lying
in defiance even with
her naked eyes.